Basic Introduction to Fengyang Phoenix Painting
Fengyang Phoenix Painting (also known as Dragon-Phoenix painting) originated in the early Ming Dynasty and has a history of over six hundred years. Over generations, artists have continuously created and developed this art form, gradually forming a unique folk artistic style and format. The phoenix depicted must have a “snake head, turtle back, eagle beak, crane legs, wishful crown, nine tails, and eighteen wings,” embodying the best features of many birds. In terms of painting techniques, folk craft colors are primarily used, incorporating the line drawing and coloring techniques of meticulous flower-and-bird paintings. Additionally, it adopts the popular style of New Year paintings, employing color expressions such as “five-color, plain color, and ink wash,” achieving a balance between elegance and vulgarity. The themes of phoenix paintings are diverse, including works like “The Vermilion Phoenix Facing the Sun,” “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,” “The Son Leading His Father to Court,” “Five Phoenix Pavilion,” “Dragon and Phoenix Diagram,” “Phoenix Chasing the Qilin,” “Hundred Birds Presenting Longevity,” “Four-Panel Screen,” and other traditional masterpieces, making them beloved by the public.
Product Characteristics
The modeling characteristics and expressive techniques of Fengyang Phoenix Painting are unique. When painting the phoenix, the artist silently recites a mnemonic: snake head, turtle back, nine tails, eighteen wings, eagle beak, chicken claws, and wishful crown. Any deviation or inaccuracy makes the work unworthy of being called authentic Fengyang Phoenix Painting.
There are three types of phoenixes: the first is the Ink Phoenix, painted entirely in varying shades of black ink; the second is the Plain Phoenix, which adds a small amount of green, blue, or gold to the Ink Phoenix, outlining and dotting local patterns and feather eyes on the body of the phoenix; the third is the Color Phoenix, painted in bright reds, greens, blues, and purples, creating a vivid and dazzling pattern. The seals on the paintings also have distinctions. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were three large seals in the shape of the character “pin” placed centrally at the top of the painting: the “Fengyang Painting Seal,” which could be purchased and stamped at any time by any painting store; to stamp with the “Fengyang County Seal,” one needed considerable influence or had to bribe the seal keeper; the “Fengyang Prefecture Seal” was even more difficult to obtain. If a phoenix painting bore all three seals, it indicated that the painting had been officially authenticated, greatly increasing its value.
Historical Folklore
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were dozens of phoenix painting stores within the city of Fengyang Prefecture. At the peak of popularity, nearly a hundred phoenix painters gathered in Dongjie, which came to be known as “Phoenix Street.” Why did artisans become so devoted to this profession? At the time, Fengyang Prefecture was the capital of Zhongdu and was very prosperous. Visitors from other regions, whether coming for legal disputes, examinations, business, or to admire the imperial capital, often left with phoenix paintings. Some officials bought phoenix paintings in bulk to strengthen relationships or curry favor with their superiors. Common people also loved these paintings and would hang them during festivals for good luck. Even Father Qian, a blue-eyed, blonde foreigner who was a Catholic missionary in Fengyang, Italy, bought two hundred “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix” and “The Vermilion Phoenix Facing the Sun” paintings at high prices to take back to his home country. Later, a descendant of the Nala family in Beijing, hearing about the fame of Fengyang Phoenix Paintings, brought a “Phoenix Playing with Peony” painting personally drawn by Empress Dowager Cixi to Fengyang to compare. However, they left dejectedly. According to the recollections of 90-year-old Fengyang phoenix painting artisan Wang Dexin, “Empress Dowager Cixi's phoenix doesn't look like a phoenix, but rather like an old rooster.”
In the Republican era, warlords fought incessantly, and Fengyang was plunged into chaos. The number of phoenix painting stores dropped from dozens to just three or four. After the “Lugou Bridge Incident” in 1937, Fengyang quickly fell, and all the phoenix painting stores were burned down. Although two families, the Hua and Yin clans, tried to maintain the tradition after the war, they were forced to close due to lack of sales, leading to the extinction of phoenix painting.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government invited several old phoenix painting artisans, including Li Fengming, Hua Xianrong, Wang Dexin, and Yin Jiecheng, to the cultural department to specialize in phoenix painting. In 1956, they were sent to Beijing for observation and study, where they exchanged experiences and honed their skills with renowned national painters such as Chen Banding, Yu Feian, and Ye Qianyu. They also sent a large number of their carefully crafted works to Hefei, where provincial Chinese painting luminaries added scenic backgrounds, and the paintings were then framed and collected. During this period, the old artisans took on three apprentices, ensuring the continuation of the tradition of phoenix painting.
With the deepening of reform and opening up, Fengyang successively established the Fengyang Phoenix Painting Research Institute and the Zhongshan Phoenix Painting Academy. Old and new phoenix painters are filled with enthusiasm. Today, Fengyang Phoenix Paintings are entering thousands of homes with their vibrant and colorful charm.